Category: Business

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir)

Karandaaz Pakistan has partnered with GrowTech Services (www.growtechsol.com), to facilitate digitalized data driven scientific based agriculture practices in Pakistan and facilitate financial inclusion in the agricultural value chain.

Under its “Pilot to Scale” program, Karandaaz has committed a grant to GrowTech Services, testing the impact of digitization of traditional agricultural value chain, on two different crops. The project will foretake the development of an E-Commerce portal, connecting farmers and bulk buyers, and integrate the GrowTech app and e-commerce platform with various payment gateways. This partnership aims to increase the penetration of this App among farmers and promote usage of digital payments through the e-commerce platform.

When speaking about the importance of digitizing agricultural value chains, CEO Karandaaz Waqas ul Hasan said, “Pakistan seriously lags behind its peers in farm productivity. We need to approach complex agricultural value chains from all possible intervention points. Farmers, in general, are hesitant in adopting digital payments and technology due to the often-complicated procedures involved. As a result, their productivity and income has remained low. Digitizing payments will bring previously unbanked farmers within the formal financial sphere. The data collected from their spending patterns can then be used to create additional interventions.”

Mr. Shahnawaz Mahmood, Co-Founder GrowTech Services said: “Our focus is to enhance productivity and decrease input-costs for farmers with the objective to improve per acre yield which is important in an agrarian economy like Pakistan. For this purpose, we remain engaged with farmers throughout the crop cycle. We are excited to partner with Karandaaz to make agricultural commerce more efficient with better price discovery and promote digital payments in this sector while providing trainings to farmers. In future this will be useful to develop innovative credit scoring models based on new data points.”

This project, through its solutions, aims to resolve a multitude of problems that exist due to traditional agriculture value chains. The focus will remain on removing the gaps and inefficiencies while digitizing the agricultural value chains resulting in a higher economic activity for all actors of the value chain while also increasing financial inclusion of value chain actors and their use of digital payments.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Punjab Central Business District Development Authority (PCBDDA), also known as Central Business District (CBD Punjab) and Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development & Management Company (FIEDMC) discussed establishing new bilateral business ties and exploring the spirit of opportunities in terms of domestic and foreign investments in Faisalabad in a formal meeting, held at CBD Punjab House. The meeting was attended by the CEO, of PCBDDA, Mr. Imran Amin. Chairman FIEDMC, Mr. Waseem Afzal, General Manager FIEDMC, Mr. Rana Muhammad Yousaf, COO PCBDDA, Brigadier (R) Mansoor Janjua, Executive Director Commercial PCBDDA, Mr. Mohammed Omer, Executive Director Technical PCBDDA, Mr. Riaz Hussain, Executive Director Legal PCBDDA, Mr. Bilal Khokhar, other directorate heads and senior officials of PCBDDA and FIEDMC. During the meeting, the massive investment potential in Faisalabad was highlighted. Chairman FIEDMC, praised the development initiatives convened by CBD Punjab, which have completely changed the development landscape of the province. During the meeting investment potential and new avenues in textile, industries, aviation, auto parts, sports, modern urbanization and other development avenues were brought to light. While expressing his views Mr. Imran Amin, CEO of PCBDDA, said that “CBD Punjab is committed for playing a vital role in increasing the economic growth of Pakistan by aligning new business avenues for people across the Punjab Province. With FIEDMC, we examined ideas based on various business modules. I would want to welcome other authorities to come out with business ideas that can play a crucial part in improving the development and economic viewpoint of the province of Punjab”. Chairman FIEDMC, Mr. Waseem Afzal said that “CBD Punjab, has all the capabilities to become an economic engine of the province. I foresee our mutual projects as a multi-billion-dollar projects, business avenues presented by the authority have great potential to attract lucrative investment for the development of Punjab. To utilize the maximum potential of other economic zones in Punjab, we have to establish the concept of CBDs across the province. We will fine-tune the business modules discussed to give a new direction to the economic development of the province. The meeting was concluded with a note that all the possible potential investment opportunities should be utilized to the maximum for the economic development of Punjab and all the concerned departments and authorities should dynamically take part in exploring new business avenues to accelerate the economic pace of the province. About PCBDDA: Punjab Central Business District Development Authority (PCBDDA), also known as Central Business District (CBD Punjab) welcomes you to Pakistan’s first central business district which puts Pakistan on the map of the global business districts across the globe. We promise to ensure bespoke and innovative real estate supply to contribute to the national development. PCBDDA has been mandated to develop environment-friendly, urban regeneration projects not only on vertical principles but also on the lines of economic generation activities in various sectors that would enhance the characteristics of the province.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir)  The export ceremony of locally manufactured mobile phones by PTA Authorization holder: Inovi Telecom was held at PTA headquarters today. The ceremony was held to mark Inovi Telecom’s achievement of exporting one hundred and twenty thousand (120,000) “Manufactured in Pakistan” mobile phones of SEGO brand to United Arab Emirates for African markets.

The ceremony was attended by Member (Finance) PTA, Mr. Muhammad Naveed; Member (Compliance & Enforcement) PTA, Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar and senior officers of PTA. CEO Inovi Telecom, Mr. Zeeshan Mian Noor was also in attendance.

Inovi Telecom is the first company to export locally manufactured mobile phones of a large quantity outside Pakistan. CEO Inovi Telecom thanked and appreciated PTA for the active support and taking measures to help bolster the mobile industry. Moreover, both PTA Members also extended their continued support for the development of a mobile device manufacturing ecosystem in Pakistan.

Inovi Telecom Pvt. Ltd was issued Mobile Device Manufacturing Authorization on 9th April, 2021 in accordance with the PTA mobile device manufacturing regulation 2021.

 

Mastercard and foodpanda partner to provide vital funding for flood-hit Pakistan, through World Food Programme.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir)  Mastercard has joined forces with its strategic partner, foodpanda Pakistan – a subsidiary of Delivery Hero – in a campaign supporting its longstanding humanitarian partner WFP. As part of the campaign, for every foodpanda app transaction made by customers in Pakistan using their Mastercard, a donation will be made to the World Food Programme (WFP)’s response to Pakistan floods. This initiative will provide vital relief and food assistance to the people of Pakistan, as the nation rebuilds after recent floods devastated the country.

The collaboration brings together the power of Mastercard and its key partners in supporting Pakistan, which is experiencing its worst humanitarian crisis in a decade after torrential rainfall and devastating flash floods left one-third of the country underwater. From 12 to 26 December 2022, Mastercard will make a donation to WFP for every transaction made using a Mastercard on the foodpanda application. The contributions will fund WFP’s response to the Pakistan floods, efforts which have already reached 2.6 million people with life-saving food assistance.

Mastercard has been harnessing its technology and the impact of its partnerships since the flooding started in June 2022. As well as supporting humanitarian agencies like WFP, the technology company has also engaged with various government entities to support their flood relief effort through Mastercard’s Payment Gateway Services. To date, millions of dollars have been collected through various government relief portals.

Ngozi Megwa, Senior Vice President, Digital Partners & Enablers, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard, said: “Across the world, we saw the devastating impact of the floods in Pakistan. We continue to work with our partners to expedite the recovery process, collaborating with experts like the World Food Programme in rehabilitating and reconstructing the impacted communities. Through deep partnerships and the power of technology, we believe that corporations and individuals alike can make a meaningful difference. We stand by the people of Pakistan and are proud to activate our network in the private and public sector as we help them to rebuild.”

Speaking about the partnership, Chief Executive Officer, foodpanda Pakistan, Muntaqa Peracha said, “As a responsible corporate entity, and more importantly as responsible citizens, it is our duty to do whatever we can to help our fellow citizens in this difficult time. We have seen some tremendous work being done by various public and private sector entities, as well as various NGOs who have really stepped up to make an impact. With this initiative in collaboration with Mastercard, we are empowering consumers and demonstrating the profound impact businesses can have when we stand together for the people.”

Chloe Gallagher, Head of Global Partnership Management, WFP’s Private Partnerships and Fundraising Division, said: “The World Food Programme is delighted to be working with Mastercard to ensure that critical life-saving food assistance is provided to populations affected by the recent catastrophic floods in Pakistan. This timely initiative will help WFP continue our operations in support of the Government of Pakistan to assist those most in need. We’re thankful to Mastercard for their continued support to fight hunger across the world, saving and changing lives for millions of people.”

Since 2012, Mastercard and its partners have contributed a total of over US$40 million to WFP through cause marketing campaigns, consumer fundraising events, support for emergencies, and expertise-sharing.

 

Syngenta Pakistan joins hands with TCF to provide education to flood-affected children.
TCF School in Badin Sindh is to be rehabilitated through the donated amount in an effort to save the education of flood-affected children.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir) Syngenta Pakistan Limited, a leading agriculture innovation and technology company – providing crop protection, biologicals, seeds, crop enhancement products and digital services to millions of Pakistani farmers, has pledged a donation of PKR 3 million to The Citizens Foundation (TCF) for the rehabilitation of TCF school in Badin district of Sindh province which was impacted by the recent floods.

In 2022, Pakistan witnessed unprecedented heavy rains and super floods which have caused devastation across the country. The education sector was not an exception to this havoc whereby over 2 million children were left without education as floods destroyed 27000 schools. The longer the schools remain closed, the greater the risk of children dropping out of school and facing learning losses emerge.

In Badin alone, over 250,000 people and approximately 48,800 families have been badly affected due to floods. Syngenta Pakistan, being a socially responsible organization, has stepped up to support the cause of education in partnership with TCF.

The donation cheque was handed over to TCF at a ceremony held in Karachi which was attended by Syngenta’s regional and country leadership teams along with the management of TCF. Speaking on the occasion, Zeeshan Hasib Baig – General Manager Syngenta Pakistan – stated: “We are excited to partner with TCF to support them in educating children from the farming community, which was severely impacted by the 2022 floods. We are very confident that these children will do well and contribute back for the betterment of their local communities and Pakistan.”  Bushra Afzal from TCF said: “TCF is on a mission to provide education to the underserved communities in Pakistan. Syngenta Pakistan’s support for the rehabilitation of our school in Badin will help in making a difference today and for generations to come.”

Engro Fertilizers organizes “Grow More Wheat” campaign with Punjab government to boost wheat productivity.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Engro Fertilizers, Pakistan’s premier seed-to-harvest solutions provider, has organized mega farmer seminars in Bahawalpur, Kabirwala, and Hafizabad, to support the Government of Punjab’s “Grow More Wheat” initiative for enhanced food security and farmer productivity in the country.

This is the third consecutive year that Engro Fertilizers has hosted these high-profile seminars. Under the “Grow More Wheat” campaign, Engro Fertilizers is supporting the provincial government by training farmers to improve harvesting and adopt best crop, and fertilizer management practices, with “Seed to Harvest” solutions offered by the Company. These solutions help enhance the wheat crop productivity and earnings of the farmers, thus, ensuring higher wheat cultivation to ensure greater food security of Pakistan.

The events were graced by Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi (Minister of Agriculture Punjab), Dr. Muhammad Anjum Ali (Director General, Agricultural Extension & Adaptive Research, Punjab), Ahmad Aziz Tarar (Secretary Agriculture, Punjab) and Dr. Faisal Zahoor (Secretary Agriculture, South Punjab), among other key officials of the Punjab Agriculture department. More than 1,000 progressive farmers, dealers and senior representatives of Engro Fertilizers, including Khusrau Nadir Gilani (Chief Commercial Officer) attended the events as well. Speaking at the occasion, Khusrau Nadir Gilani emphasized the role of innovative farming methods for increasing wheat production to fulfill local demand and creating an exportable surplus.

Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi appreciated Engro Fertilizers for launching this initiative partnering with the Punjab Department of Agriculture to improve crop productivity for the farmers. He urged the farmers to use certified seeds and apply balanced mix of fertilizers for enhanced wheat output.

Temenos and NdcTech sign partnership to expand market reach in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir) Temenos (SIX: TEMN) has signed an agreement to grant license rights to NdcTech, a wholly owned subsidiary of Systems Limited and one of its largest regional system integrators partners, to develop further and market the Temenos Country Model Banks on top of Temenos open platform for financial institutions in these seven Middle Eastern countries. NdcTech is committed to invest and develop regulatory and business specific localized functionality to enhance these Model Banks for banks of all sizes in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. As part of this agreement, NdcTech will become a trusted partner for upgrade services in those countries to enable customers to seamlessly upgrade their technology stack and offer them a modernization path to a SaaS model on the Temenos Banking Cloud. Temenos holds a leading position in the region and boasts a raft of clients across these seven countries including some of the largest and most innovative institutions in the Middle East from Al-Rajhi Bank, to First Abu Dhabi Bank to stc pay. All Temenos clients will be able to work with NdcTech and Temenos to enhance the Model Banks and contribute to the product roadmap. Country Model Banks are a key differentiator for Temenos. By enabling partners to develop new country models, Temenos is able to scale this competitive advantage, rapidly building new model banks compatible with the banking services on Temenos composable platform and available for instant deployment on Temenos Banking Cloud. NdcTech is one of the largest System Integrator and partner for Temenos in Middle East and Africa. The company’s rich engineering expertise, in-depth knowledge of modern banking platforms and unique development methodologies have led to this strategic collaboration. Working together, NdcTech and Temenos will open up new business opportunities and drive revenue growth among existing clients through cross-selling by incorporating regulatory requirements and innovations relevant to local market practices.

Counterpoint Whitepaper: TECNO plays a leading role in the premium evolution of the 5G Smartphone industry in Global Emerging Markets.

• In the 5G era, consumer preference and market growth drivers are evolving toward the premium segment in smartphone domain.
• Every era has new brands emerging, and TECNO seize great opportunities in the premium smartphone segment in the 5G Era.
• TECNO keeps steady growth globally and has consistently held a top-10 position in the global smartphone market since Q4 2020.
• TECNO upcoming flagship PHANTOM X2 plays a pivotal role in the company’s journey toward premium, featuring MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000 5G chipset to deliver an unparalleled experience for users.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir) Counterpoint Research, a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media, and telecom) industry released its new industry whitepaper named “The Rise of TECNO”. The paper highlights how the smartphone market has been moving towards premium products in recent years, fuelled by demand and technological advancements in various components and consumers’ willingness to pay more for their devices, especially in emerging markets. Counterpoint believes that different eras have produced varying leading brands and when considering the current 5G era, TECNO has become a new force, driving new markets, innovation, and premium development.

According to the whitepaper, new brands emerged as new forces and during each generation of cellular technology development, the main reason for their success is foresight on the opportunity and the innovative product offering adapting to consumer demand. Counterpoint also highlights that the main features consumers seem to be focusing on are a phone’s camera, memory, display, battery and SoC capabilities. This is proven by the statistics of global smartphone feature share change which the data in recent years exhibited in the reports. Currently, to attract the broadest potential market share for profitability, OEMs are pushing flagship features into more portfolios and providing consumers with more upgraded features to achieve a better life and work experience. Among all the global smartphone OEMs, TECNO is a brand that has shown vision and capitalized on emerging markets’ growth opportunities. This can especially be said regarding the premium segment of emerging markets as the company has demonstrated tremendous ambition by seizing any opportunity to invest in the quest for continuous evolution.

Source: Counterpoint Research- Global Smartphone Primary/Rear Camera Count Share

Commenting on TECNO’s success from afar as a new driving force of premium evolution in new markets, Counterpoint referred to the ambition for global success as well as its glocalization strategy supported by a strong R&D ecosystem. “TECNO offers smartphones customized to meet needs specific to regional users aside from pricing competitiveness. This will greatly help the company explore the higher-value markets.” As per the statistics, TECNO achieved at least double-digit growth from 2020 to 2021 in these markets.

Source: Counterpoint Research-

 TECNO Smartphone Shipments Growth – 2021 vs 2020

As Russell Flannery, Editor at Large of Forbes Magazine mentioned that “Global competition is complex, and resilient supply chains have been a core building block for China smartphone success. Yet looking deeper into this, the core of that is technology know-how.” The development of premium camera technology has always been valued by Chinese brands. The report analyst witnessed the increasing uptake of more great cameras with AI capabilities in mid-to-high-end smartphones from OEMs. TECNO is also monitoring the premium trend to ensure market and consumer relevance. The upcoming PHANTOM X2 plays a leading role, featuring MediaTek Dimensity 9000 5G chipset, together with the ultra-fast night scene algorithm and super night video algorithm, users’ experience on the dark-field image and video will be unbelievably improved.

Furthermore, the report believed that TECNO’s ambition towards a more premium brand doesn’t stop in the smartphone domain. The story is set to continue with the brand essence of “Stop At Nothing”. Hailing the launch of TECNO’s first laptop product “MEGABOOK” as an impressive milestone, TECNO is gradually building a new ecosystem, focusing on two key categories of “Personal and Home” which includes multi segments of products.

“Growth of higher spec devices highlights the consumer pivot towards premium – and brands like TECNO have evolved to meet that shift”, said Tarun Pathak.  He also points out that TECNO is becoming an essential force in the premium segment. More examples of innovative strategies and actions that push TECNO to gradually expand in premium smartphone markets and other segments are shared in the white paper, readers who may be interested in it can download it via https://www.counterpointresearch.com/white-paper-brand-study-the-rise-of-tecno/ where more detailed information can be found.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Like every year, Daraz has brought one of the most awaited sales of the year back, Daraz 12:12 year-end sale. TECNO has collaborated with Daraz on this sale, and hence you will find its devices offered terrific discounts and offers on the platform. Ensure you do not miss this opportunity to grab your favorite TECNO handset.

TECNO has offered its star product, the Camon 18 Premier, during this Daraz 12:12 year-end sale at a discounted price of PKR 50,399 instead of PKR 59,999. Daraz 12:12 year-end sale will commence on December 12th and finish on December 23rd, so hurry up before the stock lasts!

The Camon 18 Premier will be available at a fantastic price during the Daraz 12:12 sale. This phone offers one of the best camera experience for videography and photography. Vloggers have greatly appreciated this phone due to its many unique features for stable video shooting and recording. Photographers will be pleased to know that the Camon 18 Premier is loaded with a 64MP primary lens for crisp and clear pictures with gimbal technology. Moreover, a 32 MP front-facing camera allows you to take amazing selfies and capture memories. The phone offers a silky smooth experience due to its powerful 8GB ram + 256GB storage, along with 120HZ refresh rate and MediaTek Helio G96 powerful processor.

The CEO of TECNO Pakistan, Kelvin Zeng, had exciting remarks about this sale. He said, “This collaboration between TECNO and Daraz offers amazing discounts on TECNO devices. These discounts are a token of appreciation and our way of giving back to our loyal customers!”

To add more excitement to the sale this time, TECNO has brought an amazing deal to buy Hi Pods for PKR 1/- during this sale. Sounds Interesting, right? You can purchase these Hi Pods for PKR 1 only; however, with an overwhelming response to this offer, there will be a lucky draw. At the end of the sale, five lucky winners will be chosen from the lucky draw and given the Hi Pods for PKR 1/-. Money will be refunded to others through a Daraz voucher! So, hurry up before the stock gets sold out! You do not want to miss this sale and its amazing discounts!

 

 

Giving realme fans the last option to stock up on all their favourite realme goodies from Daraz during the 12.12 Sale.

The time has arrived for all realme fans as the 12.12 Sale has gone live on Daraz. And, realme has planned it big – giving upto 25% discount on smartphones and smart AIoT products. For those who were waiting to get their hands on realme’s spectacular phones of the year, it doesn’t get better than this!

So, avail these year-end discounts and get products such as:

• realme 9 Pro+ (8GB + 128GB) for PKR 77,399/- down from 79,999/-.
• realme 9 4G (8GB + 128GB) for PKR 64,799/- down from PKR 66,999/-.
• With a glowing design, realme C35 (4GB + 128GB) will cost PKR 45,499/- down from PKR 46,999/-.
• realme C25Y (4GB + 64GB) can be purchased for PKR 33,899/- down from 34,999/-.
• Grab a realme C11 (4GB + 64GB) at an amazing price tag of PKR 29,999/- down from PKR 30,999/-.

Over at the AIoT front, realme has great deals on:

• realme Watch S that comes for an exciting price of PKR 14,999/- all the way down from PKR 19,999/-.
• realme Dart Charge Power Bank for PKR 5,589/- down from PKR 6,999/-.

The list doesn’t end here. Other hero products by realme have their prices slashed as well such as realme Power Bank 2i, realme 10000mAh Power Bank 2, realme 30W Dart Charge Power Bank, realme Band 2, realme Buds Q2, realme Buds Air Neo, and realme Buds Wireless Pro, as well as the realme Motion Activated Night Light and realme Smart Scale.

This can be the perfect time for you to buy realme gifts for your loved ones because this for sure is the best realme sale, closing the year with a bang.